Running is always more than just the sweat, panting, struggle, tired legs, recovery.
Running can be more than training, racing, achievement, self actualisation
The 2nd dimension is about the more of running.
Its not that the 2nd dimension is better than the 1st dimension. The racing, training, blisters, chafing, the robusting of that running make the more possible.
Without the work and effort, running struggles to become more.
Running is always physical effort.
For those starting out running is just about all effort and little else.
Yet no matter how great the effort, it’s easy to sense that running is more than just effort; more than just unpleasant effort even.
The First Dimension of Running
The first and obvious part of the more in running, is often about performance and achievement. This is the exciting world of racing and training for races, long, short, fast and slower; of competitions, events and championships with the Olympic Games, the world great marathons and ultra-marathons as obvious examples.
It’s an exciting world replete with technology, gear, science and experts and a special grandeur – the champions, the elite runners defined by their exceptional ability to perform and prepare for performance.
For others it can be their own personal achievements about techniques and improvements.
For all runners, the first dimension of running is filled with numbers and measures, clocks, stopwatches, goals, targets, work, effort, focus, discipline, rewards, even setbacks and disappointments.
This is the first dimension of running. It has its very special grandeur – champions, elite runners defined by their exceptional ability to perform and prepare for performance; and the records, the personal records and and those for all to challenge.
The Second Dimension of Running
The 2nd dimension of running grows from the effort, performance and achievements of running. It grows out of the accumulation of miles and the ongoing encounters with our surroundings, the people, nature, the weather.
With the 2nd dimension of running comes a deeper understanding of self and of life and a fuller engagement of all that we are with life.
The 2nd dimension of running is always about our uniqueness, always a delight, always rewarding in unimaginable ways. Our experiences will be different, our running will be different but all our running will or can be rich and enriching.
This is the world of mystical miles.